This book take us to the working-class heart of America, bringing to life—through shoe leather reporting, memoir, vivid stories, stunning photographs, and thoughtful analysis—the deepening crises of ...
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This book take us to the working-class heart of America, bringing to life—through shoe leather reporting, memoir, vivid stories, stunning photographs, and thoughtful analysis—the deepening crises of poverty and homelessness. The story begins in 1980, when the authors joined forces to cover the America being ignored by the mainstream media—people living on the margins and losing their jobs as a result of deindustrialization. Since then, the authors have traveled more than half a million miles to investigate the state of the working class. This book follows the lives of several families over the thirty-year span to present an intimate and devastating portrait of workers going jobless. This study—begun in the trickle-down Reagan years and culminating with the recent banking catastrophe—puts a human face on today's grim economic numbers. It also illuminates the courage and resolve with which the next generation faces the future.Less

Someplace Like America : Tales from the New Great Depression

Dale Maharidge

Published in print: 2011-06-06

This book take us to the working-class heart of America, bringing to life—through shoe leather reporting, memoir, vivid stories, stunning photographs, and thoughtful analysis—the deepening crises of poverty and homelessness. The story begins in 1980, when the authors joined forces to cover the America being ignored by the mainstream media—people living on the margins and losing their jobs as a result of deindustrialization. Since then, the authors have traveled more than half a million miles to investigate the state of the working class. This book follows the lives of several families over the thirty-year span to present an intimate and devastating portrait of workers going jobless. This study—begun in the trickle-down Reagan years and culminating with the recent banking catastrophe—puts a human face on today's grim economic numbers. It also illuminates the courage and resolve with which the next generation faces the future.

This chapter progresses to the boom time. Dot-com start-ups were the darlings of Wall Street. The federal budget was balanced. The illusion of wealth was pervasive. Early in 2000, the bubble in high ...
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This chapter progresses to the boom time. Dot-com start-ups were the darlings of Wall Street. The federal budget was balanced. The illusion of wealth was pervasive. Early in 2000, the bubble in high tech was going strong, and many people were living beyond their means off second mortgages and credit cards. When Dale Maharidge was a kid, his mother and father had a term for people who spent money they didn't have: “fifty-cent millionaires.” It was a curious time to get a call from Frank Lalli, who had taken over as editor of George magazine after the death of John Kennedy Jr., Michael S. Williamson and Dale had a reputation for covering the working class, he said, and he wanted a story that would show the falsity of America's illusion of wealth.Less

Hunger in the Homes

Dale Maharidge

Published in print: 2011-06-06

This chapter progresses to the boom time. Dot-com start-ups were the darlings of Wall Street. The federal budget was balanced. The illusion of wealth was pervasive. Early in 2000, the bubble in high tech was going strong, and many people were living beyond their means off second mortgages and credit cards. When Dale Maharidge was a kid, his mother and father had a term for people who spent money they didn't have: “fifty-cent millionaires.” It was a curious time to get a call from Frank Lalli, who had taken over as editor of George magazine after the death of John Kennedy Jr., Michael S. Williamson and Dale had a reputation for covering the working class, he said, and he wanted a story that would show the falsity of America's illusion of wealth.

In an interview on July 21, 2009, Martha Kegel, executive director of UNITY of Greater New Orleans, described the proliferation of homelessness caused by the loss of 51,000 rental units. She also ...
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In an interview on July 21, 2009, Martha Kegel, executive director of UNITY of Greater New Orleans, described the proliferation of homelessness caused by the loss of 51,000 rental units. She also mentioned the people who were in such horrendous living conditions. Kegel could have been referring not just to New Orleans, but to the United States of America. It was as if someone decided to run a dark experiment to see what would occur if the government did everything in its power to ensure that high-paying, middle-class jobs would be destroyed and replaced with low-wage, service-sector jobs. A 2010 Brookings Institution report, citing 2008 data, revealed a startling fact: one-third of all Americans, 91.6 million people, fell below 200 percent of the federal poverty line, which was $21,834 for a family of four. From the beginning, one of the people Dale Maharidge have always looked to for guidance in gauging the impact of American decline has been Dr. John Russo, co-director of the Center for Working-Class Studies at Youngstown State University.Less

The Dark Experiment

Dale Maharidge

Published in print: 2011-06-06

In an interview on July 21, 2009, Martha Kegel, executive director of UNITY of Greater New Orleans, described the proliferation of homelessness caused by the loss of 51,000 rental units. She also mentioned the people who were in such horrendous living conditions. Kegel could have been referring not just to New Orleans, but to the United States of America. It was as if someone decided to run a dark experiment to see what would occur if the government did everything in its power to ensure that high-paying, middle-class jobs would be destroyed and replaced with low-wage, service-sector jobs. A 2010 Brookings Institution report, citing 2008 data, revealed a startling fact: one-third of all Americans, 91.6 million people, fell below 200 percent of the federal poverty line, which was $21,834 for a family of four. From the beginning, one of the people Dale Maharidge have always looked to for guidance in gauging the impact of American decline has been Dr. John Russo, co-director of the Center for Working-Class Studies at Youngstown State University.

When a rural family of modest means buys a new or used mobile home, unless cash is paid up-front, they become entangled with the highly profitable mobile home industrial complex, made up of home ...
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When a rural family of modest means buys a new or used mobile home, unless cash is paid up-front, they become entangled with the highly profitable mobile home industrial complex, made up of home producers, dealers, financiers, and trailer park entrepreneurs. For most working-poor rural families, with few exceptions, this engagement means being caught in an expensive trap as they chase their American Dream for housing. Rural trailer parks house approximately 12 million people, and we describe this population’s diversity across rural Illinois, New Mexico and North Carolina. We ask whether living in a rural trailer park has a negative neighborhood effect on working poor families, children and youth. We found only Whites report being stigmatized as trailer trash in contrast to Hispanics and African Americans who did not report this experience. Stigmatization negatively affects youth in school and parents in the adjacent rural community.Less

Singlewide : Chasing the American Dream in a Rural Trailer Park

Sonya SalamonKatherine MacTavish

Published in print: 2017-10-15

When a rural family of modest means buys a new or used mobile home, unless cash is paid up-front, they become entangled with the highly profitable mobile home industrial complex, made up of home producers, dealers, financiers, and trailer park entrepreneurs. For most working-poor rural families, with few exceptions, this engagement means being caught in an expensive trap as they chase their American Dream for housing. Rural trailer parks house approximately 12 million people, and we describe this population’s diversity across rural Illinois, New Mexico and North Carolina. We ask whether living in a rural trailer park has a negative neighborhood effect on working poor families, children and youth. We found only Whites report being stigmatized as trailer trash in contrast to Hispanics and African Americans who did not report this experience. Stigmatization negatively affects youth in school and parents in the adjacent rural community.

On a chilly March afternoon in 2009, Michael S. Williamson and Dale Maharidge drove into Youngstown and felt the desolation of this lost city. There were miles of burned-out and abandoned homes amid ...
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On a chilly March afternoon in 2009, Michael S. Williamson and Dale Maharidge drove into Youngstown and felt the desolation of this lost city. There were miles of burned-out and abandoned homes amid meadows that once were neighborhoods. For Dale, the empty floor of the Mahoning Valley, almost all field and forest, looked naked in the absence of over twenty miles of steel mills. The blast furnace area of the Brier Hill Works, the “Jenny” in Bruce Springsteen's song, had long since been demolished, as had the Campbell Works. No blimp factory was ever built. The biggest job creator had been the construction of four prisons. The town felt unfamiliar. So much had decayed and grown over. The authors then went to the home of Ken Platt in the town of Girard, adjacent to the city of Youngstown.Less

Necropolis: After the Apocalypse

Dale Maharidge

Published in print: 2011-06-06

On a chilly March afternoon in 2009, Michael S. Williamson and Dale Maharidge drove into Youngstown and felt the desolation of this lost city. There were miles of burned-out and abandoned homes amid meadows that once were neighborhoods. For Dale, the empty floor of the Mahoning Valley, almost all field and forest, looked naked in the absence of over twenty miles of steel mills. The blast furnace area of the Brier Hill Works, the “Jenny” in Bruce Springsteen's song, had long since been demolished, as had the Campbell Works. No blimp factory was ever built. The biggest job creator had been the construction of four prisons. The town felt unfamiliar. So much had decayed and grown over. The authors then went to the home of Ken Platt in the town of Girard, adjacent to the city of Youngstown.

Urban poverty, along with all of its poignant manifestations, is moving from city centers to working-class and industrial suburbs in contemporary America, and nowhere is this more evident than in ...
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Urban poverty, along with all of its poignant manifestations, is moving from city centers to working-class and industrial suburbs in contemporary America, and nowhere is this more evident than in East St. Louis, Illinois. Once a thriving manufacturing and transportation center, East St. Louis is now known for its unemployment, crime, and collapsing infrastructure. This book takes us into the lives of East St. Louis's predominantly African American residents to find out what has happened since industry abandoned the city, and jobs, quality schools, and city services disappeared, leaving people isolated and imperiled. It introduces men who search for meaning and opportunity in dead-end jobs, women who often take on caretaking responsibilities until well into old age, and parents who have the impossible task of protecting their children in this dangerous, and literally toxic, environment. Illustrated with historical and contemporary photographs showing how the city has changed over time, the book, full of stories of courage and fortitude, offers a vision of the transformed circumstances of life in one American suburb.Less

Abandoned in the Heartland : Work, Family, and Living in East St. Louis

Jennifer Hamer

Published in print: 2011-09-01

Urban poverty, along with all of its poignant manifestations, is moving from city centers to working-class and industrial suburbs in contemporary America, and nowhere is this more evident than in East St. Louis, Illinois. Once a thriving manufacturing and transportation center, East St. Louis is now known for its unemployment, crime, and collapsing infrastructure. This book takes us into the lives of East St. Louis's predominantly African American residents to find out what has happened since industry abandoned the city, and jobs, quality schools, and city services disappeared, leaving people isolated and imperiled. It introduces men who search for meaning and opportunity in dead-end jobs, women who often take on caretaking responsibilities until well into old age, and parents who have the impossible task of protecting their children in this dangerous, and literally toxic, environment. Illustrated with historical and contemporary photographs showing how the city has changed over time, the book, full of stories of courage and fortitude, offers a vision of the transformed circumstances of life in one American suburb.

This book examines the lives of five topless dancers in the economically devastated “rust belt” of upstate New York. With insight and empathy, the book shows how these women negotiate their lives as ...
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This book examines the lives of five topless dancers in the economically devastated “rust belt” of upstate New York. With insight and empathy, the book shows how these women negotiate their lives as parents, employees, and family members while working in a profession widely regarded as incompatible with motherhood and fidelity. Neither disparaging nor romanticizing the book's subjects, this text investigates the complicated dynamic of performance, resilience, economic need, and emotional vulnerability that comprises the life of a stripper. An accessibly written text that uses academic theories and methods to make sense of feminized labor, this book shows that sex work is part of the learned process by which some women come to believe that their self-esteem, material worth, and possibilities for life improvement are invested in their bodies.Less

Neon Wasteland : On Love, Motherhood, and Sex Work in a Rust Belt Town

Susan Dewey

Published in print: 2011-02-07

This book examines the lives of five topless dancers in the economically devastated “rust belt” of upstate New York. With insight and empathy, the book shows how these women negotiate their lives as parents, employees, and family members while working in a profession widely regarded as incompatible with motherhood and fidelity. Neither disparaging nor romanticizing the book's subjects, this text investigates the complicated dynamic of performance, resilience, economic need, and emotional vulnerability that comprises the life of a stripper. An accessibly written text that uses academic theories and methods to make sense of feminized labor, this book shows that sex work is part of the learned process by which some women come to believe that their self-esteem, material worth, and possibilities for life improvement are invested in their bodies.

Contrary to popular belief, many black men and women want to work and actually do. Most black men and women do the work that is hardly noticed. Joblessness, underemployment, and poverty wages have ...
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Contrary to popular belief, many black men and women want to work and actually do. Most black men and women do the work that is hardly noticed. Joblessness, underemployment, and poverty wages have been the hallmark of inner-city neighborhoods, not the suburbs. Unemployment rates in East St. Louis were strikingly high well before the high profile of massive layoffs. The East St. Louisans were clear and articulate about how their basic life circumstances affected decisions pertaining to jobs and work. East St. Louis was declared a federal Empowerment Zone in 1998. Whether low-income communities benefited on the whole from Empowerment Zone initiatives was questionable. People in East St. Louis want good jobs and the good life these are expected to bring.Less

Work and Meaning in a Jobless Suburb

Jennifer F. Hamer

Published in print: 2011-09-01

Contrary to popular belief, many black men and women want to work and actually do. Most black men and women do the work that is hardly noticed. Joblessness, underemployment, and poverty wages have been the hallmark of inner-city neighborhoods, not the suburbs. Unemployment rates in East St. Louis were strikingly high well before the high profile of massive layoffs. The East St. Louisans were clear and articulate about how their basic life circumstances affected decisions pertaining to jobs and work. East St. Louis was declared a federal Empowerment Zone in 1998. Whether low-income communities benefited on the whole from Empowerment Zone initiatives was questionable. People in East St. Louis want good jobs and the good life these are expected to bring.

This chapter addresses the seemingly never-ending demands on East St. Louis women for the care of others. These women bathe, dress, and nurture children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. ...
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This chapter addresses the seemingly never-ending demands on East St. Louis women for the care of others. These women bathe, dress, and nurture children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. It is shown that the life for African Americans in suburban space and place has differed markedly from that of their white counterparts. Then, it is noted that women make decisions about the care of others, work, and retirement, and that their own health is caught in the middle. Researchers suggest that married elderly women are happier and healthier than their single counterparts. Responsibilities to family do not end when children reach the age of eighteen, nor do they dissipate when women reach the age of retirement in their suburban place.Less

“Around Here, Women Never Get Done Workin'”

Jennifer F. Hamer

Published in print: 2011-09-01

This chapter addresses the seemingly never-ending demands on East St. Louis women for the care of others. These women bathe, dress, and nurture children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. It is shown that the life for African Americans in suburban space and place has differed markedly from that of their white counterparts. Then, it is noted that women make decisions about the care of others, work, and retirement, and that their own health is caught in the middle. Researchers suggest that married elderly women are happier and healthier than their single counterparts. Responsibilities to family do not end when children reach the age of eighteen, nor do they dissipate when women reach the age of retirement in their suburban place.

This chapter explores the gendered norms of emotional labor in a feminized occupation, paralegal work. It explains that paralegal work is feminized not simply because women do it, but because taking ...
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This chapter explores the gendered norms of emotional labor in a feminized occupation, paralegal work. It explains that paralegal work is feminized not simply because women do it, but because taking care of others is construed as something which women are well suited to do. Through deference and caretaking, paralegals function to support and maintain the stability of the lawyers for whom they work.Less

Mothering Paralegals: Emotional Labor in a Feminized Occupation

Jennifer L. Pierce

Published in print: 1996-02-15

This chapter explores the gendered norms of emotional labor in a feminized occupation, paralegal work. It explains that paralegal work is feminized not simply because women do it, but because taking care of others is construed as something which women are well suited to do. Through deference and caretaking, paralegals function to support and maintain the stability of the lawyers for whom they work.